The Rose That Grew From Concrete By Tupac Shakur

When believing in yourself is it possible to accomplish what others say is impossible? The Rose that Grew from Concrete is a by Tupac Shakur is a story about Tupac’s life growing up in the ghetto and how through chasing his dreams and working hard he was able to make something of himself. Using symbolism, literary devices and tone Shakur shows how the timeless quote “anything is possible if you put your mind to it” is still true today.
In Shakur’s poem, he uses symbolism to help convey his inspirational message. Symbolism is an artistic expression used in writing when one thing represents another. Shakur uses 2 embedded symbols in his poem and they are the concrete and the rose. The concrete in which the rose grows is not a symbol that is

instantly recognizable, in this case it represents the hard times Shakur went through growing up in the ghetto. At this time for people who grew up in the ghetto it was very difficult to make something of yourself. It represented the hard times that Shakur went through until he was able to find his way out of the ghetto. Tupac when writing this poem thought of himself as the rose , it represented how even through harsh conditions and no family people can grow through hard work and dedication that himself (the rose) “learned to walk without having feet” (4). This quote shows the reader that while Shakur had nothing to grow off or anyone to rely on his resilience and perseverance were able to keep him from falling through the cracks in the concrete and allowed him to grow where most don’t even try. Symbolism helps convey Shakurs message by showing how something unexpected can happen to anyone with a strong will and the ability to fight back. Shakur’s uses of literary devices also help convey message by keeping the reader captivated throughout the poem.
Shakurs use of literary devices help convey the message of the poem by helping to keep the reader intrigued in the writing.

Shakur uses personification, rhyme, rhythm and a very large metaphor in his poem The Rose that Grew from Concrete. Shakur’s use of rhythm in this poem allow the reader to enjoy the poem for more than just the words on the page, it adds another dimension to the reading experience. The rhyme in the poem combined with the rhythm make the poem song like, this helps the reader to remember the poem, which in turn helps the reader remember the message in the poem. Shakur also uses personification in his poem. The personification allows non-human objects to gain human qualities. This allows for the object to have a greater impact on the reader due to its ability to make things more relatable and create more vivid pictures in the readers mind. One example of personification in the poem is when the rose is described as “keeping its dreams” (5). This is personification because it is giving a rose a human emotion of retaining its dreams when in reality roses do not have the ability to dream. This makes the rose more significant because it now has human qualities that the reader can relate to. Finally, there is one last literary device in this poem and it is a metaphor. The whole poem is a metaphor for Shakurs life, Shakur wrote the poem about a rose and concrete rather than himself and his struggles because the abstract idea allows for the reader to think and develop their own ideas about the poem rather than just having words put into their mouths. Shakurs use of literary devices helps convey message through keeping the reader engaged in the poem as well as allowing the reader to come up with their own ideas about the poem, the idea that he reader comes up with is also based on the authors tone in the

poem.
The tone in The Rose that Grew from Concrete is motivational, inspiring and lonely. This conveys the message because it speaks true to how Shakur never got down on himself while struggling through life in the ghetto even without the help of peers and family. The speaker talked about how the rose was able to overcome adversity in order to get where it wanted to be, and no matter what the rose was given it solved its problems by itself and “the rose… grew from concrete when no one else cared” (8, 9). This quote demonstrates to the reader that without help of others the rose with devotion and will power was able to conquer its dreams. The ideology of battling through hard times and conquering dreams is a common practice that still rings true to this day.
Shakurs poem, The Rose that Grew from Concrete is a story about how the rose, a symbol of Shakur, and the concrete, a symbol of hardship can be overcome with perseverance and dedication. Through Shakur’s writing style he was able to create a poem that inspired many people and became an anthem for those who chased their dreams. The idea behind pursuing your dreams is not an idea of the past, but an idea of the present and the future.